This is one of those things that I make ahead of time and then can put onto any salad I want. I often combine these roasted cherry tomatoes with my homemade croutons. You can fit two cookie sheets in the oven, you can make them side by side and then you have easy delicious salad toppings that are very impressive and a 1000x times better than the stuff from the store. You can use them on salad, in soups, or simply as a snack. My cousin used to just eat the bag of croutons like chips. : )

I am going to list the ingredients and directions for each combined, as there is no real difference. Simply the base ingredient of tomatoes or bread. You can experiment and add parmesan cheese to either or both, also fresh herbs like rosemary, oregano, or garlic are nice additions as well!

1 basket of Cherry tomatoes - about 2 cups or until cookie sheet is covered in a loose, single layer

OR

1/2 loaf of bakery fresh unsliced bread (pick your favorite flavor - mine tends to be olive loaf, rosemary, or garlic) - Cute up into 1/2" cubes; spread out on a cookie sheet until it is covered in a single layer

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) - 1/4 cup per cookie sheet

Kosher Salt - finely ground (don't use table salt as it will discolor the tomatoes and wilt your lettuce!)

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 415 degrees

Spread your bread or the tomatoes out on their own tin foil lined, cookie sheet. Don't overcrowd the sheet. Leave room between the bread cubes/tomatoes. Don't be tempted to put them on the same cookie sheet, the tomato juice will run and make your croutons a soggy mess.

Drizzle the EVOO evenly onto the whole cookie sheet

Sprinkle with kosher salt and the fresh ground pepper evenly across the whole cookie sheet

Use your hands to toss the bread and make sure it is evenly coated with EVOO and salt/pepper. If the bread is still dry add a bit more oil but be careful you don't want "soggy" you want lightly coated.

For tomatoes, you can simply roll them around and make sure they have oil and salt/pepper on all sides

Put both cookie sheets in the oven and cook for 15-20 mins until the croutons are lightly golden brown. The tomatoes should have some burst and some will be whole. That's ok, when they cool they will burst as needed.

The croutons can be put in a large plastic bag after they cool and are good for about a week. The tomatoes, should go into a plastic lidded, container and be stored in the fridge for about 4-5 days.

So this was a spur of the moment dinner. I wanted a basic bacon carbonara (bacon + pasta + cream sauce) but I didn't have enough bacon to carry all that cream, so I made up a new dish!

Ingredients:- 1/2 pound of bacon cut into lardons- 3-4 cups of Blasted Broccoli (see recipe on other page) (great way to use leftovers if you have any!)- 2 cups of mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)- 1 large yellow onion chopped- 4 cups of milk (fat free is actually better here because of the high water content) - 1 cup of parmesean cheese - grated- 2-3 cloves of garlic - diced or minced- 1-2 Cups heavy whipping cream (or a small bottle of pre-made alfredo sauce to save you time)- 1/2 pound or 2 inches diameter of fettucine (I used a chipotle pepper fettucine for an added layer of flavor or you can buy the small box of fresh fettucine from store)- 2 tablespoons parsleySalt and pepper - you will need a lot more seasoning if you make the sauce from scratch

Directions:The secret here is to use the milk to cook the pasta. Add the mix-ins (bacon, mushrooms, onion, and broccoli) at the very end to keep them crisp.

Start both of these parts at same time in different pots

Mix-Ins:1) heat a large saute pan to just a hint over medium. 2) When hot, add the bacon lardons and cook until nicely browned. Remove bacon bits and put on paper towel. 3) grease should still be nice and hot, so carefully add chopped onions (watch for water spatter!)4) when onions are flimsy, add mushrooms5) when the mushrooms are mostly browned and looking tender, season with salt and pepper. Healthy sprinkle across the whole pan. 6) add garlic and cook 3 more minutes until garlic is light golden brown. 7) remove any excess liquid and take off heat.

Pasta: 1) add milk to a large sauce pot and put on med heat2) when milk is bubbling, add pasta. There should be enough liquid to cover the pasta! If not add more milk. 3) add parsley to milk4) turn heat up to med-high heat, stir often! Add a touch of bacon grease (2 tablespoons max) because fat makes everything better. 5) Slowly mix in half of the cheese - add handful, stir. Add another small bit and stir.6) once pasta is flexible add whipping cream or alfredo sauce to keep pasta covered in liquid. Stir pasta!7) keep stirring pasta and add another big handful of cheese. Should be just enough left for garnish at very end. 8) when the sauce is sauce-like (thickened and coating pasta), turn off heat and gently mix in the bacon, Blasted Broccoli, and mushroom/onion/garlic mixture. - if the sauce reduces too much (pasta looks dry or not coated evenly), you can add a bit more whipping cream or alfredo sauce to bring the sauce back to life9) salt and pepper to taste

Making Guacamole is very simple especially in the summer when you have an abundance of fresh ingredients at your fingertips. I like mine with a bit of a kick but not so spicy that it overwhelms the nutty flavor of the avocado or the sweetness of the fresh tomatoes. Of course, the primary reason to make guac for me is to have with chips but it is equally yummy on omelets, burgers, nachos, quesadillas, or really any kind of Latin food really.

Alternative: Add a small can of drained mandarin oranges at the very end for a unique and delicious twist!

What You Will Need:- 4-5 medium avocadoes (pitted, scooped, and in large mixing bowl)- 1 lemon juiced into the bowl, no seeds (prep trick - roll around with the palm of your hand on the counter before cutting it in half to get the juice all loosened up)- 1 lime juiced into the bowl, no seeds (prep trick - roll around with the palm of your hand on the counter before cutting to get the juice all loosened up)- 1 clove +/- of garlic (minced)- 3 small vine-ripened tomatoes or 10ish cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato (chopped and seeded)- 3 small green onions (diced white part through green part just before it turns hollow)- 1 bunch of fresh cilantro (wash and chop) [prep trick - cut at 3 angles (side, middle, side) around the core of stems, pick out long stems and then chop]- 1 large jalapeno or 2 Serrano peppers (diced up super fine with all the seeds - be careful! after cutting put vegetable oil on your fingers, rub all over and under nails, then soap, then wash them in warm water to remove the oils.)- 1 tablespoon Chili Powder- Sprinkle of cayenne pepper powder (Pinch of heat)- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt (prevents salt from browning the avocadoes)

Directions:

1. Prep all items as listed above and put in a large mixing bowl in the order listed.

2. Mash avocado with a fork while stirring. It should not be totally smooth. You want some chunks but you also want all the spices and goodies mixed in well.

3. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator. There should be very little browning with the high citrus content especially if you use Kosher salt.

With all the lovely fruit that is available during the brief summer months, fruit tarts are one of my favorite treats! Now, to be totally honest, I am not a baker. I love cooking but baking is more technical - you have to measure and be precise and stuff. This is not how I cook. I make things that taste great by adding a bit of this, a bit of that, and magically it all shows up. So with this in mind, I make simple fruit tarts but trust me - they are fabulous and no one will know how simple they are if you don't tell them. :)

Things you will need:- Fruit of your choice- washed and dried (I use my fresh grown raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries and then supplement with store bought things like mandarin oranges and kiwis or fresh produce from the farmer's market like the cherries, nectarines, and peaches)- one box of instant, no cook, vanilla pudding mix- 1 small jar of apricot spreadable fruit/preserves- 1 small can of sweetened condensed milk - 1 Tablespoon lemon juice- 2 Tablespoons orange liquor - 1 pint of heavy whipping cream (can use whole milk but not as good)- 2 cups Vanilla/French vanilla yogurt- not Greek yogurt though- 1 small jar of lemon curd (in the jam aisle, right near apricot preserves. Some stores may have it with the "British food" section. This is one of the things that I think makes my pastry crème amazing, so I would spend some time finding it or you can make it ahead of time and then use left overs on scones/muffins. Do not substitute with "lemon pie filling") - granulated sugar, not the super fine stuff! Rock sugar, if you can find it - pre-made pie crusts - not deep dish

Pie Crust:1) Easy trick to make your pie crust better: After the crust defrosts and while you are waiting for the oven to heat up, coat the crust with the rock sugar. [Alternative to make tartlets: Take the second crust in the set and spread out and cut into little pie shapes and put in muffin tins with sugar on them.]1) Poke holes in bottom of crust and cook in 400 degree oven for 18 minutes or so. 2) Put on counter to cool

Apricot Glaze:1) Add 1 cup of the apricot preserves/spreadable fruit into a large, microwave safe glass.2) Add lemon juice and orange liquor to the preserves and mix until well blended.3) Heat in microwave for 2 minutes (cooks off alcohol).4) carefully remove glass and mix well. Let cool a bit on counter.

How to Make the Pastry Crème:This is my cheater recipe. I have had given/shared it with pastry chefs and they have been "wowed" by it. Seriously. 1) Empty contents of the pudding mix into a large mixing bowl. 2) In a 3 Cup measuring glass measuring glass, add 1 and 3/4 Cups of the vanilla yogurt, 1/3 Cup of the lemon curd, 2 Tablespoons of the sweetened condensed milk. Fill with the heavy whipping until you hit the 3 Cup mark.3) Mix all the ingredients well in the measuring glass until they are smooth. 4) Pour the mixture into the bowl with the pudding powder mix and whisk until smooth.5) Put in fridge to thicken and stay cold until ready to fill tarts.

Left: Apricot Glaze under the fruit. Right: Apricot Glaze added on top of fruit.

Tart Assembly:Well, this is the easy part and you get to use your imagination.

1) Put a thin layer of the pastry crème into the crust. Some people like thicker layers, I subscribe to no more than 1/2 an inch of crème to balance with the fresh fruit and the apricot glaze.

2) depending on how sweet you fruit is, you have two choices for the glaze: a) spread a thin layer over the crème for an added layer of sweetness in every bite. This leaves the fruit looking pristine, or b) Add the glaze over the top of the fruit to make them shiny and add sweetness to the fruit. I prefer this method with less sweet fruit like kiwis, mandarins, etc. 3) Put the tarts in the fridge for a few hours to chill but they are ready to serve!

I love broccoli but I know many hate it. I am a firm believer in "you have to find the right way to serve it" for most foods. I grow my own broccoli and I buy it fresh whenever I can. I have two go-to recipes for broccoli. The first one, Blasted Broccoli, is my own take on a recipe from a very popular restaurant in Bellevue, WA called Black Bottle. They made it first but I think mine is better! :)

The second recipe is based on another restaurant's dish called Soup Plantation/Sweet Tomatoes. I will post it separately but it is a healthy twist on coleslaw made with broccoli instead of cabbage! It is sweet, crunchy, and very easy to make. It is also a super sneaky way to slip in good fresh veggies with the kiddos.

Blasted Broccoli is super easy to make and I have converted several die-hard "I hate broccoli" people with this recipe.

What you will need:- 2 large heads of broccoli (you can use frozen in a pinch but I do not recommend it - it turns out soggy and less crispy)- cut into bite size portions- Extra virgin olive oil - about 1/4 Cup- Cajun Spice blend (You can instead use any of your favorite spice blends with or without salt. My mother likes the classic Salad Supreme for a mild/no heat version.)- Large cookie sheet with a piece of aluminum foil covering it- salt - kosher salt is best

Directions: Safety Tip: Also have a box of baking soda around in case of a grease fire. If you spill oil or it catches fire, never ever, ever use water on a grease fire.1. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees (or as hot as it will go).2. Use a large cookie sheet and cover in aluminum foil to prevent oil staining and to make easy clean-up.3. Toss florets in enough oil to get them shiny but not so much that it pools on the pan. Pour off any excess if it puddles.4. Spread florets out in a single layer and dust with seasoning. Make sure you evenly coat all of the florets.5. Put in middle rack of oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. they are done when the edges are slightly crispy and a little browned and tender.6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with kosher salt. Enjoy!

]]>Mon, 15 Jun 2015 22:50:05 GMThttp://www.pinchofgeek.net/recipes/spicy-cannellini-bean-pita-sandwichThis is one of my favorite quick and easy meals. It is a very low-fat, high protein, can be gluten free (if no bread or gluten free pita), vegetarian (or vegan if no parmesan) yummy sandwich. It is great for all diets, and super easy to make. If you make it let me know how it turned out!Total time: 15 minutes (10 minutes to cook, 5 to put together)

Variations:1) If you have or are using hummus, spread hummus inside of the toasted pita pocket like you would any dressing. 2) This works equally well without the bread as a warm salad. Toss bean mixture with spinach and add a little extra of the dressing from the bottom of the pan. 3) You can also serve this on a toasted baguette with spinach on it as a bruschetta style appetizer.]]>